I arrived in Luang Prabang about 9 days ago - this is an enchanting city, beautiful and green with interesting little shops, cafes, bookstores, bars and restaurants tucked into every leafy corner. Like Vientiane, there is an obvious French/international influence but the Laotian culture is most evident, and I think there are more monks walking around in their flowing orange robes than there are tourists with cameras (and that's saying a lot!)
The town is bordered by two rivers; my guesthouse is right across the street from the Mekong, which is gorgeous. I've spent days just walking around and exploring, but there is a lot to do and see - jungle treks, trips to villages, waterfalls, caves, etc. On my second day in town I went to the Elephant Sanctuary - these elephants were rescued from logging operations - I was a little dismayed that they were being used to haul visitors around, but by the end of the day I decided it wasn't so bad as they only work 5 hours a day and it pays for their keep, and the money generated allows for the rescue of more elephants from logging. So I signed up for a day of mahout training and spent the day hanging out with the elephants - riding, bathing, stroking and feeding them bananas. I love elephants, and though these elephants seemed well cared for, I was wishing they could just be free - sadly, it is expected that all of the wild elephants will be extinct within 50 years.
After bathing an elephant in the river, I was standing on the shoreline when one of the elephants carrying a particularily loud visitor came out of the water quickly and appeared ready to be done with her bath and the whole event - I could see this in her as she heading straight at me, so when I took a step to the side to move out of the way I was watching the elephant, not my feet. This turned out to be quite unfortunate, as I slipped on a mound of slick clay and went down fast and hard on my butt and right hand. I knew immediately that I had fractured my wrist. We got in a boat and went to a gorgeous waterfall park, our next planned stop - but it was hard to appreciate it fully as my wrist was looking and feeling more swollen and broken with every passing minute. I splinted it using my scarf and chopsticks. When I was finally returned to my guesthouse, one of the managers gave me a ride on the back of his motorcycle to the hospital, and he stayed with me translating and helping me get from one place to the next. The hospital was almost deserted - maybe because it was a Sunday? I saw the ER doctor almost immediately, was sent for an x-ray (scary), and saw the doctor again (supposedly an orthopedist) who applied the cast - it was a clean break and did not need to be reset. The entire bill- ER visit, x-ray, consultation, cast, mild pain medication - was only $42!
So I have a cast on my right arm extending from fingertips to elbow (almost). This is bad, worse because I have a rotator cuff injury that causes pain and limited range of motion in my left shoulder. Thank goodness I have the use of both legs. So the plan now is to hang out and let my wrist heal - the cast will come off in 4-6 weeks. I've rented a place in Luang Prabang with a balcony and 2 rooms, right off the Mekong in the heart of the prettiest part of town. I worked out a long term deal so am only paying $11 a day. I'll stay here until February 5th, then I'll move on to Bangkok, Thailand where I'll have the cast removed around Feb 12th. Then I'm off to India by the end of February. I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude as there is nothing I can do about it now, except wait it out. This certainly isn't a bad place to be stuck, although I can't do a lot of the things I came here to do - but that's life I guess - unpredictable. Fortunately I have a lot of time ahead of me yet to travel...
